Yacht survivors’ outlook good

Two men in fair condition in hospital, three others arrive OK in Saint John

A SAR-Tech is hoisted from the deck of the Coast Guard vessel Sambro during a simulated medical evacuation off Dartmouth in November 2009. A Cormorant helicopter was used in rescue efforts for the Tabasco II off the coast of Cape Sable Island. (ERIC WYNNE / Staff / File)

YARMOUTH — A Canadian Forces helicopter speeding through the night to where a sailboat was foundering offshore almost didn’t see the dismasted Tabasco II.

The damaged boat was flung about in total darkness in three-storey waves overnight Monday when one of the terrified men aboard crawled to a stern deck with a lighted flare in his hand after hearing an approaching Cormorant search and rescue helicopter.

The man was frantically waving the flare while trying to hang on when the chopper’s co-pilot noticed the light and directed the pilot to an overhead position, said Capt. John Pulchny, a spokesman for 14 Wing Greenwood.

The man made his way back into a tiny cabin where only two of the original nine European men remained.

"Once the (search and rescue) tech went down, he found the three of them huddled down inside . . . with their life-jackets on," Pulchny said.

The 11.5-metre sailboat, carrying men said to be from Russia, Georgia and Ukraine possibly involved in human smuggling, issued a distress call late Monday evening about 150 kilometres south of Cape Sable Island.

In total, five men were rescued, another died after being pulled to safety, and three others are missing and presumed drowned. The search for them was called off at sunset Tuesday.

Two of the men were listed in fair condition Wednesday at Yarmouth Regional Hospital. Hospital spokesman Fraser Mooney said the men would likely remain in hospital for another 24 to 48 hours, barring any complications.

RCMP officials were "in and out" of the hospital all day, Mooney said.

"I know they’ve been in contact with the patients," he said.

The other three known survivors arrived in Saint John, N.B., on Wednesday afternoon aboard a massive oil tanker, the FSL Hamburg.

During a brief telephone chat earlier Wednesday with the Hamburg, a man who identified himself as the ship’s fourth officer told The Chronicle Herald in broken English that the sailboat survivors were fine but he did not speak their language.

"There are three persons rescued on board, (their) condition is good," the officer said as the ship made its way past Digby Neck across the Bay of Fundy toward Saint John, where it arrived just before 3:30 p.m.

A Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman said Wednesday that officers have already begun an investigation of the two survivors at the Yarmouth hospital and will do the same for the three in Saint John.

Chastity McKinnon said the agency is working in partnership with the RCMP.

"We have to find out why they’re here and how they got here," said Sgt. Tom Murdoch of Halifax RCMP.

"At the same time, we have to determine what happened with the vessel, why it sank."

Police are also investigating the death of the one rescued man.

A Ukrainian man bought the Tabasco II from a Canadian in Trinidad last November.

The sailboat was bound for Nova Scotia when it ran into trouble in the treacherous waters, Murdoch said.

He said the nationalities of the men on the sailboat could not be released. The family of the one confirmed dead man has not yet been contacted, he said.

Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews suggested Tuesday that the men were involved in human smuggling. He said the sailing tragedy highlights the need for speedy passage of the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act.

Toews said the survivors are claiming refugee status.

In that case, the Immigration Refugee Board would take over the investigation. If a claimant is eventually deemed an appropriate candidate to be admitted into Canada, the Immigration Department would then become involved through its settlement programs.

But Sharry Aiken, a law professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., said that under the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, or Bill C-31, smuggled refugee claimants would be automatically subject to a one-year detention without review and a mandatory five-year ban on applying for permanent residency.

The situation was grave Monday night when Canadian Forces personnel were lowered to the heaving deck of the sailboat.

The sea had 10-metre swells, along with snow squalls and high winds.

"It was quite harrowing for them," Pulchny said.

The sailboat was being tossed so badly that at times it was standing almost vertically on its bow or stern, he said.

"When they landed on the vessel, it didn’t look like a sailing vessel," Pulchny said. "Of course, all the rigging was gone."

The helicopter was forced to hover higher than usual to avoid being slammed by the two- and three-storey waves.

The lurching boat’s passengers were hoisted more than 20 metres into the helicopter as it constantly manoeuvred.

The military rescuers were banged around as they worked, sustaining bumps and bruises.

A Hercules aircraft flew above the helicopter in tight circles, offering guidance and illuminating the night with flares.

The first search and rescue tech was lowered to the boat to see exactly what was there, and he was surprised to see three men huddled in a cabin. A second tech came down and they hoisted up each man separately.

One of the men was unconscious and unresponsive, and the rescuers tried to perform life-saving techniques on board the helicopter.

The Hamburg, out of New York, had been the first to arrive on the scene and rescued three men from the water. The tanker called the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax for more help.

"Some of the waves were going over the bow of the (Hamburg)," Pulchny said.

The Hamburg stopped its rescue operation after the third person was lifted aboard.

"They felt it was unsafe because of the high seas, and they were afraid that their large ship would crush the small one," Pulchny said.

The big tanker stayed around for quite some time and was involved in the search for the three men who remain missing.

Comments(5)

Nurse these poor devils back to health, give them each a good meal and kick them out of the country. There are proper channels to go through in order to immigrate to Canada.
If we let them stay for a year, while the Citizenship and Immigration Canada does whatever it is they do, these illegals will simply vanish into the woodwork, as have literally thousands over the last decade.
If we don't get tough on such activity, the country will continue to look like a safe haven for ilegal immigrants, whether they be true refugees or terrorists. If we don't know who or what they are, we don't need them here.
The only good news in this story is that the Cormorant helicopter wasn't out picking up Peter MacKay from another fishing trip.